And She Smiled
by TheMellowOne
Summary: When she smiles, the whole world turns upside down... or is it right side up? I don't know. But when she smiles, I know that everything is going to be okay." RemusLily
1. Lily

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Lily

'She's beautiful,' he thought to himself. He stared at the girl amidst the bustle on the platform 9 and ¾. Looking at her made all his worries about his first year at Hogwarts instantly melt away. What could possibly be so bad about Hogwarts when someone with such graceful beauty was there? He had never really been around any girl with exception of his mother, but he knew that this girl was the most beautiful girl on the planet. Her dark red hair fell just below her shoulders and her emerald green eyes sparkled as she gave him a smile. He felt himself go weak in the knees and he smiled back...

"Oy Moony! Get up, first day of classes. Wouldn't want to get on McGonagall's bad side the first day back would you?"

"Shut it, I was having a good dream!"

"What was it about?" There was a pause as the boy struggled to remember.

"Damn, now I can't remember."

"Good, now get up."

Grudgingly, he got out of bed. "Where is everybody?"

"They went down to breakfast a half hour ago. Hurry up, classes start in twenty minutes. You're going to be late if you don't get up," Sirius told him.

"Since when do you care about being late?" the half awake boy asked, smiling. His question was answered with a hit on the head. The both laughed. "Good comeback, Padfoot."

Remus Lupin still felt a little sleepy, but cheerful as he headed to Transfiguration alongside Sirius Black. Although spending the summer with his parents wasn't horrible, he had still missed his best friends James Potter, Sirius, as previously mentioned and of course, Peter Pettigrew.

Together they were The Marauders and they were unstoppable. James and Sirius, also known as Prongs and Padfoot were the considered the best looking boys in the school and they always getting into trouble. Peter, or Wormtail was a slightly round boy who was almost never noticed and tagged along with the other two. Remus was the rational one of the group and his nickname was Moony.

With a big smile, Remus pushed open the door and sat down in the second to last seat in the second to last row with his friends. However, his good mood instantly evaporated when he heard Professor McGonagall make an announcement at the beginning of class.

"As I'm sure all of you know, this year you will take your N.E.W.T's. These tests will determine your entire future and..."

"No pressure or anything," Sirius whispered to his friends who began to chuckle.

"Mr. Black, kindly pay attention or you will receive detention on your first day back." Sirius gave Professor McGonagall an innocent look. She snorted and returned to her lecture. "As I was saying, this year we will be studying human transfiguration. Please open your copies of _Advanced Transfiguration _to page 422."

The class grumbled and opened their books. Remus snuck a glance at her. Lily Evans. He almost sighed wistfully but caught himself. She was just as beautiful, if not more beautiful than she was six years ago. His heart began to beat faster. He was so distracted he didn't realize James poking him with his quill. He turned to look at him.

"I'm going to ask her out to Hogsmeade this year and she's going to say yes," James said confidently. Remus fought down the temptation to hex him on the spot and forced a smile.

"That's what you said last year, the year before that and the year before that. Heck, ever since we've been allowed to go to Hogsmeade."

"This year is different."

"Sure it is Prongs," Remus said, hoping that he sounded normal. He could already feel a flush beginning to creep into his cheeks.

"Just you see," James told him, looking at her lustfully one last time before returning to his Transfiguration.

"This is the year you take your N.E.W.T's and I want you to all be prepared. These are the most important tests you'll take..." Professor Flitwick squeaked.

"Why do I get the feeling we've heard this lecture before?" Sirius asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Do the teachers think we don't know this is the year we do our N.E.W.T's?" James joked.

"A point from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter. Now, today we will be working on the Patronus charm. Can anyone tell me what it is?" The professor asked. Several hands went up. "Miss Evans?"

"It's a charm used to repel dementors, it basically puts a shield between you and the dementor," she answered.

"Very good, Miss Evans, you just earned Mr. Potter's lost point back. This charm is quite difficult, but I have no doubt that you will be tested on it. It is conjured by concentrating on a single happy thought and saying incantation _Expecto Patronum. _I'll demonstrate it for you." Flitwick closed his eyes for a few seconds and then raised is wand and muttered '_Expecto Patronum! _' and a brilliant white eagle flew around the room. "The shape the Patronum takes is different for every wizard that conjures it." He smiled at his eagle that was beginning to fade. "Now, I'll put you in pairs to work on this. Mr. Black you will work with Miss Morrison..." Sirius flashed a debonair smile at the shy Hufflepuff who blushed scarlet. Meanwhile, Flitwick continued assigning partners.

"Mr. Potter you will work with Mr. Holden over there. That leaves Miss Evans and Mr. Lupin." James shot a jealous look at Remus. Remus gave him a nervous smile and moved over to Lily's table.

"Hi," she said cheerfully. She gave him a smile and immediately Remus could feel his legs about to give way. He leaned on the table for support.

"'lo, do you think we can do this? It's really advanced magic, a lot of fully qualified wizards can't do it," he said nervously. He was babbling, why was he babbling? "So, do you have a happy memory yet?"

"Uh, hold on. Just let me think for a second..." There was a pause. "Okay you go first."

"No, you're the best in class at Charms. You go."

"All right then. _Expecto Patronum_!" Lily chanted. Remus thought for a second it worked, but nothing a wisp of silver smoke came out of her wand. She immediately looked frustrated and cursed causing Remus to laugh. She gave him a piercing look. "Fine," she glared threateningly. "You try it."

"Fine, I will." Remus concentrated as hard as he possibly could on the day he had received his letter from Hogwarts. He had been accepted even though he was a werewolf. "_Expecto Patronum!_" He shouted and he gave a triumphant yell as silver shot out of his wand. He thought he had done it, but then he realized that he had produced nothing more than a bit of silver mist. Lily gave him a smug look.

"Well you didn't do it either!" Remus pointed out. Lily's cheeks flushed a little, and she whipped out her wand.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" The same silver mist shot from her wand.

"_Expecto Patronum!" _Remus yelled. More silver mist.

"_Expecto PATRONUM!_" Lily bellowed but that time nothing even came out of her wand. Remus paused to think of a happy memory and settled on the day he first met Lily.

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM!_" This time, it worked. A dazzling white wolf emerged from his wand and glided around the room.

"Oh, well done, Mr. Lupin. Five points to Gryffindor," Professor Flitwick squeaked with happiness. Remus blushed and he could hear Lily scowling somewhere behind him. He turned, 'God,' he thought to himself. 'She's even beautiful when she's mad at me.'

"Well if _you_ can do it, I can too. _Expecto Patronum!_" Lily said angrily. Immediately a shining white horse burst from her wand and galloped around the room. She gave Remus a triumphant look. Remus took one look at her cocky face and immediately burst into laughter. Lily hesitated but soon followed and both of them were nearly rolling on the floor clutching their sides.

"Another five points for Miss Evans! You're homework will be to practice producing your Patronus. Class dismissed," Flitwick told them. Everyone began shuffling out of the classroom.

"Moony! You coming?" James asked, narrowing his eyes in jealousy.

"Uh, you guys go ahead." He quickly glanced over his shoulder and saw Lily packing her bag. "I'll be right behind you." His friends shrugged and pushed James out the door. Remus walked over to Lily feeling sick to his stomach.

"Fun class, huh?" He felt stupid as soon as he said the words.

"Yeah, it was. So what class do you have next?" She asked.

"Oh, I have Arithmancy. What about you?"

"Potions," she shivered slightly. "I hate those dungeons." A moment of silence passed.

"Can I walk you there?" Remus asked, trying to sound casual.

"Um, sure, I guess." She gave him another smile. He felt his knees buckle slightly. They left the classroom and walked through the nearly empty corridors. "Are you sure you want to walk me? Won't you be late to your class?"

He ignored the question and instead said, "So are you going with anyone to Hogsmeade? Its next weekend and I was wondering..." The words had tumbled out of Remus' mouth and he shut up quickly.

"You were wondering what?" Lily pressed, with a slight smile on her face.

"Well," Remus said slowly. "I was wondering if you would like to go with me." He could hardly believe his own daring. She didn't reply, and he walked her all the way to the top of the stairs that led to the dungeons.

She turned around and gave him a smile that made his heart melt. "Of course I would, Remus. I would love to go with you." She kissed him lightly on the cheek, before turning away and heading down the stairs.

A/N: Let me know whether you like it or not. -Jezy.


	2. Stupid Grins and Dirty Socks

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Stupid Grins and Dirty Socks

"Remus, are you okay?" Remus was sitting at one of the desks in the Gryffindor common room with books about curses covering every surface of the table. Remus was assigned extra homework from all his teachers as a result of not paying attention in class. He wasn't in the mood to put up with Peter.

"Of course I am, now shut up, Peter, I'm trying to do my homework," Remus said, he glanced up and looked at the clock, it was nearly midnight. He sighed; he still had a lot of Defense Against the Dark Arts homework to do.

"Well, you didn't pay attention in any classes today after Charms and why the hell have you got such a stupid grin on your face?" Remus didn't answer right away. Did he really have a stupid grin on his face? He tried hard to keep his face straight, but it didn't work. He lifted his hand and touched his cheek, he could've sworn that the exact spot that Lily had kissed him was still burning. His smile was more apparent than ever, but he quickly hid it and put on an annoyed face.

"Don't you have homework to do, Peter?" Remus asked irritably.

"I finished a while ago. The defense homework only took me about an hour. You've been working on it since nine o' clock."

"Oh, right," Remus said absentmindedly. His mind began to wander and he replayed the scene after Charms over and over again.

"So, why are you smiling?"

"I was remembering that prank we did last year on Snape," Remus lied. Severus Snape, otherwise known as Snivellus was the sworn enemy of the Marauders.

"Really? I don't believe you, Moony. Why are you smiling?"

"Don't I have a right to just be happy for no reason?"

"You? The right to be happy? Don't be stupid." Peter laughed out loud.

"Gee, thanks. You've made me feel special, Wormtail."

"Anytime, Moony." Peter paused. "So, really, what are you so happy about?"

"I'm not telling you." Remus began to blush.

"Aw, come on, we're supposed to be best friends!"

"No, I can't, you'll just go off and scream it to the world."

"No I won't," Peter said defensively.

"Promise? Swear on your mother's grave?" Remus pressed. Although Peter looked terrified at the very thought, he nodded his head in agreement. Remus glanced around and whispered, "I asked Lily to go to Hogsmeade with me and she said yes." There was a long pause.

"James is going to kill you Moony."

"That's why he can't know about this. Don't tell him, okay?"

"Sure, I won't. But, Moony, you should," Peter said.

"I can't."

"He's going to find out anyway, he's asking Lily to go with him, right now as we speak." Peter pointed over to the couches by the fire, and Remus could see James trying to win Lily over. Remus could feel a wave of jealousy wash over him. He clenched his fists.

"Remus," Peter warned.

"Let's just go, Peter. Let's get some food from the kitchens. I'm starved," Remus said quickly as he tore himself away from the scene before him.

"Alright then," Peter said, looking a little bit relieved. "Should we go ask Sirius if he wants to come along?" He looked around the room and found Sirius trying to charm a group of third-year girls. "Or maybe not, he seems to be enjoying himself." Peter nodded in Sirius' direction, and Remus let out a snort of laughter.

"You're right. I'll just go get the map."

"Get the cloak too; I don't fancy getting detention on the second night back."

"Alright."

* * *

When the two Marauders came back from their midnight excursion, their arms laden with cakes and breads, they saw Sirius looking over at a dejected looking James sitting on the couch, staring at the fire in the deserted common room. 

"What's wrong with James?" Remus asked, already knowing the answer.

"Lily," Sirius replied simply.

"She turned him down again?" Remus asked and Sirius only nodded in response.

"Oh." Peter flashed a look at Remus.

"We should go talk to him." Sirius began to walk over to James, with a hesitant Remus and Peter following him.

"Hey, Prongs. What's up?" Sirius asked easily taking his usual seat on the other side of the couch. Remus sat down in his favorite chair, while Peter seemed extremely anxious and remained standing.

"Lily. Turned me down flat. Said she already had a date," James replied sadly.

"Oh?" Remus asked nervously.

"Yeah, I'm gonna find out however that guy is, and I'm going to hex him into the next century," James said angrily going suddenly from depressed to pissed off. Remus was both relieved and scared.

"I'll help you. I hope it isn't a stinking Slytherin," Sirius agreed.

"No way, Lily is way to smart to go with a Slytherin," James said, disgusted at the very thought.

"Don't worry, mate. She'll come around one of these days," Sirius reassured him.

"I've loved her since the first day I saw her on the Hogwarts Express. Why does she hate me so much?" James looked miserable and Remus felt a pang of guilt, but also anger and got to his feet.

"Well what can you expect? You're always acting like a big headed ass around her. You're too wrapped up in that huge ego of yours to notice that Lily is always rolling her eyes when you show off. Remember that time in fifth year after we took the O.W.L's?" Everybody looked stunned at Remus' outburst. Remus reddened with both anger and embarrassment. "Well, it's true!" He sat back down.

"He's right, Prongs," Sirius agreed although he looked over at Remus curiously.

"Yeah, what they said." Peter always agreed with majority. They sat there with nothing but the crackling of the dying fire to break the eerie silence.

"It's late, I'm going to bed," James said suddenly. He got off the couch and ran up the stairs. The door slammed and echoed throughout the empty common room.

"I better go too." Peter got up and went up the stairs.

"What was that, Remus?" Sirius asked when the dormitory door was closed again.

"What was what?" Remus replied innocently, trying to play stupid.

"That little outburst back there. What you said about Lily and James, I know its true, but I couldn't help but wonder if there was more to it than friendly advice." Sirius looked sharply at Remus, as though he were trying to read his thoughts. Remus just sighed.

"You're right. I'm Lily's date for Hogsmeade."

"You're what? I can't believe you, Remus. You know how James feels about her!" Sirius said angrily.

"Yeah? Well does he know how I feel about her? Does he know that I love her too? And have loved her since the first day? I mean, when she smiles the whole world turns upside down... or is it right side up? I don't know. But when she smiles, I know that everything is going to be okay. Does James know that too? Can he even begin to understand that?" Remus countered. Sirius' expression softened.

"You should've said something, Moony."

"How could I ever say anything? With James always plotting ways to win her heart? I didn't say anything because I couldn't." There was silence while Remus fumed and Sirius was at a loss of words.

"Look, Remus. You're right. I'm happy for you and Lily. But is she worth the friendship you have with James?"

"I don't know, Sirius. I just don't know."

* * *

When the four Gryffindor boys got up the next morning, the mood was much cheerier than it had been the night before. 

"Where are my socks?"

"Find your own damn socks! I can't find my any of my robes!"

"Don't be stupid, they're all right over there."

"Those are yours."

"So? Wear them anyway."

"You're half my height!"

"Hey, I resent that!"

"Oy, your robes are over there."

"Oh yeah, thanks Padfoot."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't have let you go down to breakfast wearing nothing would I?"

"Guys? Has anyone seen my wand?"

"Geez, Peter! You've lost your wand?"

"Yeah, can you help me look for it?"

"_Accio Wand!" _An eleven inch mahogany wand flew into Remus' outstretched hand.

"That's my wand, you prat!"

"Fine, here." The wand was returned to its rightful owner.

"I still can't find my wand!"

"Okay, I'll try being more specific. _Accio Peter's wand!_" A nine inch oak wand zoomed out from under the covers of Peter's bed.

"Thanks, Remus."

"How come you'll help Peter but not me?"

"You can do a Summoning Spell on your own, can't you?"

"Oh, good point. _Accio Socks_." More than a dozen pairs of socks hit Sirius in the face causing James, Remus and Peter to double up in laughter. This resulted in everyone being pelted with socks using the Banishing Spell.

They all emerged from their dormitory twenty minutes later, all of them cheerful and smelling slightly of dirty socks. As they walked through the halls on their way to breakfast, several people held their nose.

"We don't smell that bad, do we?" Peter joked as a group of fourth year girls past them.

"Nah, of course not," Sirius replied smiling, obviously liking the attention.

But no one would even sit next to them at breakfast. "Okay, this is getting ridiculous. I'm the most dashing man in this school."

"Sure you are Padfoot," Peter said sarcastically.

"Hey, be careful there, Peter. Don't enlarge his head even more than already is."

"I was being sarcastic!"

"Yeah, well big-headed Sirius might not be able to tell the difference."

"My head's not as big as our friend Prongsie here anyway."

"Don't call me Prongsie! And my head isn't that big."

"Yes it is."

"It's not!"

"Shut up you guys. You're making too much damn noise."

"Hey look over there," Sirius called. "It's Snivelus."

"Betcha can't hex him from over here," James challenged.

"I think I can." Sirius took careful aim, and hit Snape in the back with the Jelly Legs curse, which he didn't notice until he stood up. Sirius and James both roared with laughter and didn't notice Professor McGonagall come up behind them.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Black and you too, Mr. Potter. You two will not be allowed to go to Hogsmeade this Saturday. Instead, you will be cleaning up the Great Hall without magic." Professor McGonagall turned away and headed back to the teachers table. Both Sirius and James groaned loudly.

"Without magic, she gets more evil every year!" Sirius complained.

"We can't go to Hogsmeade either! I won't see who Lily is going with!" James moaned. Sirius, Peter and Remus glanced at each other. Sirius changed the subject.

"This has got to be a record. Detention the first week of school, I don't think we've even done that before."

"Well, it's our last year. We might as well go out with a bang, right?" James looked around at his fellow Marauders.

"Right." They all agreed at the same time.

A/N: Here's another chapter for you. -Jezy.


	3. Heaven

Heaven

"Um, hi Remus, do you mind if I sit here?" Remus was in the library working on some homework for his Defense against the Dark Arts class. Professor Siddons had assigned a ridiculous amount of homework. He looked up and saw Lily. He just sat there staring at her until Lily blushed and cleared her throat. "So it's okay then." She sat down next to him.

"So, what brings you to the library?" Remus asked stupidly. She just giggled.

"Oh, the same as you, I guess. I need to do my Defense against the Dark Arts homework. The common room was just getting too loud." Her face darkened. "That James Potter is the most insufferable _boy_ I've ever met. He's in the common room right now, complaining at the top of his lungs about not being able to go to Hogsmeade and doing ridiculous impressions of Professor McGonagall. I just don't understand how you can be friends with him. You two are opposites."

"Well," Remus said carefully. "I think being opposites is what makes us such good friends. We balance each other out." She looked over at Remus and something told her that she should just let the subject drop.

"So, where do you want to meet? For Hogsmeade tomorrow?"

"Oh," said Remus, uncomfortably. "I was wondering if we could just meet at Honeydukes or something."

"Why?" Lily asked, confused.

"Well," Remus started and then sighed. "You know James likes you right?"

"No, of course I don't," Lily said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes.

"Well, then you can understand why he can't know about this, about us. I can't risk him finding out that I'm your..." He trailed off.

"Date," Lily prompted. He gave her a smile.

"Yeah, date. He's one of my best friends and I don't want to hurt him." Lily looked at him, really looked. She looked right past his wispy light brown and hazel eyes, right into his heart. She gave him a little smile.

"I understand, Remus. I'll meet you at Honeydukes, then." She gave his arm a squeeze and then hurried out of the library leaving Remus alone with his thoughts.

* * *

On Saturday morning, Remus got up before dawn. He was too excited to sleep. He hurriedly pulled on some clothes and as he was doing so he thought about Lily.

"You're making too much goddamn noise, Remus."

"Just go back to sleep," Remus muttered distractedly, he was having problems putting on his shirt.

"Uh, Moony, you're trying to put your pants over your head. I'm not sure that's going to impress her much." Remus blushed and turned to see a groggy-looking Sirius.

"Shut it, don't wake James." Remus pointed to the closed hangings of James' four poster bed.

"You know James sleeps like the dead." Sirius reminded.

"I don't want to take chances," Remus whispered quietly putting on shirt instead of his pants.

"Don't worry about it." Sirius began to pull on his clothes as well. "So what about some breakfast? I'm hungry." Sirius' stomach growled loudly as if to prove his point. They both chuckled.

"You're always hungry, Padfoot."

"A growing boy needs his nutrients."

"You're almost six foot two!"

"So? I can still grow some more." Remus just shook his head as they headed out of the dormitory. Remus paused and could hear the snoring James and his insides twisted into a knot of guilt. "Moony! Let's go!"

"Yeah I'm coming."

* * *

"Where's Lily? I need to see who she's going with!" James moaned. His eyes darted around wildly before he spotted Lily with Leigh Watson and Tracy Werth the other two girls in Gryffindor. "Where is the damn idiot she's going with? Who is it?"

"What? So you can rip him to shreds?" Remus asked as nonchalantly as possible.

"Yeah, I guess." James chewed on his toast angrily.

"Come on, Prongs. Our fair lady McGonagall awaits us." Sirius motioned to the professor who was taping her foot impatiently at the bottom of the staircase.

"Oh, right. See you two later. Bring us some stuff from Zonko's." James looked back at Lily, his face clouding with anger. "And if you see who Lily is with, let me know."

"Sure, Prongs," said Peter nervously. His slightly round self quivering. Remus just ignored James, trying to contain his anger. Did James really think he owned Lily?

"Remus!" Remus was quickly brought back to reality. Peter was shaking his shoulder. "Let's go."

"Okay, and listen Peter. Sorry about leaving you alone today. But..."

"Who says I'm alone? I have a date."

"You?" Remus stifled a laugh. Peter just glared.

"Don't sound so surprised, Moony. And yes, I do have a date and she happens to be quite pretty."

"Who is she?" Remus asked curiously.

"Amy Parsons, you know her, she's in Hufflepuff." Remus tried to contain his laughter.

"She's a third year isn't she?" Remus glanced over at his friend who was blushing furiously.

"Age doesn't make a difference," Peter said defensively.

"Of course it doesn't Peter, of course it doesn't." Remus glanced around and saw Lily laughing and talking animatedly with her friends. He caught her eye, and she gave him knowing smile then returned to her conversation.

"He's going to find out sooner or later, Moony," Peter said, following Remus' gaze. Remus didn't reply. "Is she worth your friendship with James, Moony?"

"Ha, that's funny. Sirius asked the same question." Remus pretended to lose interest in the conversation and was suddenly really interested with the stone castle floor.

"So what's the answer then?" Remus just ignored him. They got into the horseless moldy carriage to Hogsmeade without another word.

* * *

"Hey, Remus, "she said happily. Remus turned around and saw her shocking green eyes and thick auburn hair.

"You're beautiful," Remus said breathlessly. She blushed crimson.

"I appreciate the compliment. You're pretty handsome yourself, you know." Now it was Remus' turn to blush and he muttered words of thanks.

"So, shall we go?" Remus offered his arm. She took it, giggling.

"Yes, I think we shall. It's off to Honeydukes!" They entered the small shop that seemed to be bursting at the seams with people. Remus' eyes were shinning with happiness. He headed straight for the chocolate, and grabbed an enormous slab of Honeydukes' best.

"I must admit, I have a bit of a sweet tooth," he told her as they were standing in line to pay. She laughed.

"Aw, and here I was thinking that you had that big smile on your face because I was here with you," Lily joked and put on a mock expression of hurt.

"I'm sorry, m'dear. I can't live without chocolate. You on the other hand..." he trailed off.

"Remus!"

"I was just kidding, Lily. I couldn't live without you either."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Is this all dears?" The plump lady behind the counter asked. Remus nodded yes. "It

comes to a total of six sickles and twelve knuts." They paid and left the crowded shop for some fresh air.

"Where would you like to go now, Lily?"

"What about the Three Broomsticks? I'm getting a little thirsty." Remus was a bit hesitant. What if someone told James? He pushed the thought away. He wasn't going to let James ruin his day with Lily.

"Sure, let's go."

They entered the bustling pub and found a table in the corner. When Madam Rosemerta saw Remus without the company of his three best friends, she did a slight double take.

"Hello, Remus. It's strange to see you here without the other members of your little gang," she laughed and her eyes landed on Lily. "Lily! Are you here with Remus?" Lily gave Remus a side glance and blushed but didn't say anything.

"James and Sirius had detention, and Peter had a date, so Lily offered to accompany so I wouldn't be alone," Remus said quickly.

"Of course dear," she said. Although mentally she was wondering if what he said was true. Besides, wasn't Lily James' girl? She ignored the thought and asked, "So then, what would you two like to have?"

"Two butterbeers, please, Rosemerta." Remus gave Lily a questioning look and she nodded.

"Of course, I'll bring them right out." She gave the pair another glance, before walking over to another customer.

"So what do you want to do, after Hogwarts?" Lily asked.

"Oh, well, I haven't really thought about it yet. It seems so far away. But if I had to choose, I think I'd be an Auror." Remus answered. "What about you? What do you want to do?"

"I want to be a Healer," she said simply.

"You'd be a great, Healer, Lily."

"You're just saying that."

"No, I'm being serious. You're fantastic at Charms and Potions. You actually care about other people. You'll be wonderful." Lily blushed.

"That's sweet, Remus."

"Well, it's the truth. You'd be great at anything you want to do, Lily. You're just an amazing person."

"You are too, you know. You aren't like the rest of your friends. You care about people too." Lily squeezed his arm as Madam Rosemerta brought the drinks over. She raised her eyebrow as she saw Lily with her hand on Remus' arm.

"Here you are, dears. If there's anything else you need I'm just over there." She pointed to the bar.

"Thanks, Rosemerta." She gave them a smile and a wink, then left.

"It seems kind of strange, doesn't it? We're going to be leaving Hogwarts after this year."

"Yeah, it terrifies me."

"Why?" Remus asked curiously.

"Well," Lily said slowly. "I don't know, it's just I don't want to leave. I guess I just don't want to grow up." She smiled sheepishly.

"I don't either." Remus raised his bottle of butterbeer. "Here's to never growing up."  
"Hear, hear," Lily said, raising her bottle and grinning.

By the time they had finished their drinks it was only a little past noon.

"Would you mind accompanying me on a walk?" Remus asked.

"Not at all, Remus, not at all." They got up out of their seats, thanked Madam Rosmerta and walked back out. She took his hand gave it a squeeze as they followed the cobblestone street to the outskirts of the village.

"Where are we going, Remus?" Lily asked.

"Oh, I know this place just outside of Hogsmeade, it's a little bit of a surprise." Lily gave him a bit of a smile and Remus could feel the familiar wobble of his legs.

"I like surprises," she said happily. They walked a little longer in silence.

"Okay," Remus finally said. "Close your eyes." She hesitated. "Its okay, Lily, you can trust me." She grinned and obeyed.

Remus led her up a grassy slope and into a tranquil wood. After a couple minutes, Remus stopped. "Open your eyes, Lily."

Lily opened her eyes and gasped. They were in a small clearing in the middle of the woods. The trees looked like they were on fire, their leaves fiery oranges and bright reds and yellows. The sun shone through the trees and it looked like there was a golden aura surrounding them all.

"It's beautiful," Lily breathed.

"I thought you'd like it. I sort of found it back in fourth year when I got lost." Remus took Lily by the hand and led her over to some shade under the biggest oak tree.

"I feel like I'm in heaven," she whispered and rest her head on Remus' shoulder. Lily closed her eyes again and let the beauty of the wood sink in. When Remus looked down again, he saw that Lily was asleep. He chuckled softly.

"Oh, Lily. You're beautiful, you know that?" He gently kissed the top of her head, inhaling the sweet smell of honeysuckle in her hair. They both sat under that oak tree for a while, and by the time Lily opened her eyes again the sun was setting. Remus was stroking her hair lightly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep," Lily said embarrassedly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "You should have woke me up."

"It's okay, you were great company anyway." Remus glanced at the setting sun. "We should get back to the castle." Reluctantly they both got up and slowly began walking out of the wood hand in hand.

"You'll bring me back here, won't you Remus?" Lily asked before they left the clearing.

"Of course I will, Lily."

"Good, I'd hate never to come back to the place where we first kissed."

"Kissed?" Remus asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, kissed," Lily said seriously.

"Okay, I can take a hint, I'm not thick." Remus chuckled as he stopped and wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her close. She leaned into him and he brushed his lips gently against hers then pulled back.

She smiled, "Now I'm really in heaven." She rested her head on his shoulder as they continued their walk back to the castle.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, hope you liked this chapter. I'll try to update once a week. Keep reading:)


	4. Falling

Falling

Remus stood in front of the enormous castle. He had told Lily to go first so no one would really suspect anything. Remus lingered outside until the sun had finally set and night began to fall. He looked up and saw dark clouds racing in from the south. He could hear the gentle chirping of crickets and the sound of the wind whistling through the trees. In the distance he could see fireflies chasing each other and in midst of it all, he, Remus Lupin, was on top of the world. He touched his cheek and realized he was still flushed from the kiss.

"Lily," he murmured softly. He looked up to the sky and saw the moon slowly begin to rise. He shuddered involuntarily. How he hated the moon. It was a clock, ticking away his time until he became... Remus gave another shudder. "A monster," he whispered. "A werewolf." His mind wandered and he thought about the day he had been bitten. 'If only I had stayed inside,' he thought. 'If only I had listened, if only the moon hadn't been so bright.'

His thoughts turned back to Lily and he wondered if he should tell her. Would she abandon him? He didn't want to take the risk. He sighed and with one last glance at the moon, he turned to go inside.

'Three more days,' he thought. 'Just three more days.'

"Oy, Moony! Over here!" Sirius called. Remus walked over to where his Sirius and James were sitting in the Great Hall.

"Hey guys," Remus said despondently. He sat down and began helping himself to some bread and a baked potato at the table. "Did you guys have a good detention?" Sirius gave Remus a curious look.

"What's wrong, Remus?" James asked although he was sure he already knew the answer.

"Three more days," Remus whispered as he mashed the potato to bits and shoved it around on his plate with his fork. He suddenly felt sick.

"Don't worry, Moony. We'll be with you," Sirius said loudly, attracting the attention of some nearby first years. Remus gave Sirius a warning look, but then he realized that Sirius was right. His friends would be with him. They were all Animagi and could be with him during his transformations. He cheered up considerably and began to eat the food on his plate.

"So have a good time in Hogsmeade, Remus?" James asked.

"Yeah, I got some chocolate from Honeydukes." Remus patted his bag that was bulging with Honeydukes' best. The three of them laughed.

"You're going to get sick of that stuff one day, Remus."

"Me? Never, chocolate is my life! Oh, and here I picked up some Dungbombs at Zonko's." Remus rummaged in his bag and pulled out a small package and handed it to James.

"Thanks, Moony." There was a slight pause.

"You didn't happen to see who Lily was with did you?" There was an uncomfortable silence. Remus looked at his friend the knot of guilt that had been pushed away during the day had returned and twisted tighter.

"No, I didn't see who it was, sorry Prongs," Remus lied. Sirius quickly changed the subject.

"Can you believe McGonagall? She made us scrub the entire castle!"

"Uh, don't you think you're exaggerating a little, Padfoot?" Remus asked.

"No!" Sirius and James shouted at the same time. The three of them laughed.

"Yeah, honestly, what has gotten into that woman?" James said angrily, temporarily forgetting about Lily.

"We should do something! This is our last year to wreck havoc, after all and we haven't done anything at all." Sirius contorted his face in concentration, obviously thinking about another one of his grand schemes. Remus spotted Peter entering the Great Hall and waved his arm to attract his attention.

"Hey guys!" Peter sat down, his face looking a bit flushed.

"Hey Peter, how were things with Amy?" Remus smirked.

"What? Peter had a date?" James asked in surprise. Sirius let out a barking laugh.

"I didn't know you had it in you, Wormtail!" Sirius slapped Peter on the back and then quickly retreated to his thoughts on how to create chaos.

"So how was your date, Peter?" James questioned innocently.

"Fine, thank you, James," Peter said coldly.

"We were just kidding, Wormtail," Remus apologized and then hesitantly Peter smiled.

"Things were actually better than fine. We went to the Three Broomsticks and then we walked around a bit. But then she decided to come back early and well, I've just come back from the Astronomy Tower." Peter gave a smile. The rest of the Marauders groaned in disgust.

"Uh, okay Peter. No need to go into all the details. We've already heard enough." James shuddered and then his face clouded as he saw Lily enter the Great Hall with her friends. "Why does she hate me?" The other three Marauders exchanged looks.

"It's because you're you. It's nothing personal," Sirius joked. But James only gave him a depressed look.

"No, really, I thought that with this whole Head Boy thing that she would think I'm more than just an immature prat. But she hates me more than ever." He stared hopelessly at Lily who had just sat down at the very end of the table, on the other side of the Great Hall. There was a long silence; no one knew what to say. James just shoved the food around on his plate while the rest stared at him.

"What's wrong with me?" James sighed.

"I've thought of the perfect prank!" Sirius said, trying to break the awkward silence.

"Not tonight, Sirius. I'm just, not in the mood." James got up, "I think I'll go up to sleep now. See you guys in the morning." He walked dejectedly up the stairs and out of sight.

"I'm really starting to worry about him," Sirius said his eyes on James' empty seat. "

"Yeah, this whole thing with Lily is really starting to get to him," Peter agreed. They both looked at Remus.

"What? What am I supposed to do? I've got just as much right to be with her as James does." Sirius looked around.

"Hey, maybe we should continue this conversation in the common room."

"Yeah, you're right, Sirius." Peter nodded and got up, Remus followed. They walked in silence to the Gryffindor Tower. Sirius gave the password to the Fat Lady and then they sat down in front of the fire in the empty common room.

"What should we do about James, then?" Peter asked.

"There's nothing we can do, is there." Sirius gave Remus a look.

"I have just as much right to be with her as James does," Remus said, repeating what he had said down in the Great Hall.

"We weren't accusing you, Remus. We weren't. It's just, well, is Lily worth your friendship with James?" Sirius questioned.

"Why do you keep asking me that?"

"Because you never give us an answer," Peter replied.

"I just don't know, okay? I don't." Remus snapped.

"He's going to find out sooner or later, Remus. He's going to notice how funny you've been acting. He's going to see the way you look at her. He's going to see all that, it's only a matter of time," Sirius said slowly.

"Well I don't care. I don't care if he notices."

"Yes you do, Remus," Peter said softly.

"I don't. I don't," Remus repeated. They sat in quietly, with only the crackle of the flames to break the silence.

"I think we should get to bed, we've all had a long day," Remus said. The other two murmured in agreement and the three of them got off the couches and went up to their dormitory.

* * *

Two days later, Remus had spotted Lily in the library. He stared from the doorway, her hair was tied in a loose ponytail and stray strands of hair framed her face. He could feel his heart begin to quicken its pace as he approached her. 

"Hey Lily," Remus said nervously. She turned around and gave him a broad smile.

"Hey Remus." He looked down at what she was working on. Professor McGonagall had assigned them to write ten rolls of parchment on Invisibility.

"That took me hours to do," Remus said, nodding to her notes on Invisibility. She groaned in frustration.

"I thought it would be easy, so I saved it for the last minute. I just don't get it; Transfiguration is just so needlessly complicated." She shook her head tiredly. Frowning at the passage she had just read.

"Need help?" Lily's tired eyes lit up.

"Some help would be much appreciated, Remus."

"Alright." Remus sat down next to Lily and reached for her quill. "Okay, it's like this" Remus began to draw out some complicated diagrams for Lily. Every once in a while his arm would brush hers causing them both to blush.

They worked steadily together and had just finished when Madam Pince came in and told them that they had to leave because she was going to close the library. They left and began to wander aimlessly through the corridors. They still had an hour or so before curfew.

"So, is there anywhere you want to go? Or would you rather just go back to the Common Room?" Remus whispered.

"I don't know, anywhere. It doesn't really matter, I'm with you." Remus blushed and reached for her hand. He led her up the stairs to an empty corridor.

"Wait here." Remus walked back and forth in front of a blank wall, and magically a door appeared. He gave her a small smile and held out his hand. "Welcome to the Room of Requirement, Lily."

He opened the door and inside the room was an extremely large fireplace with a fire crackling cheerfully in the grate. In front of the fire, there was a squashy emerald green couch with a large blanket draped over one arm. Remus led Lily over to the couch and conjured up some hot chocolate. He put his arm around Lily's shoulders and they sat together, bathed in the warmth and light of the fire. After a while, moonlight began to spill into the room casting eerie shadows. Remus looked nervously at the soft white light.

"Uh, Lily, there's something I need to tell you." Remus gripped his mug of hot chocolate tightly.

"What is it?" She was worried; she could feel him tense beside her.

"I have to go away tomorrow night."

"Why?" Lily was puzzled.

"It's my mother. She's quite ill," Remus said uncomfortably. He hated lying to Lily, but he couldn't risk losing her. He had no choice but to lie.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"I don't know. The Healers aren't exactly sure what's wrong." There was a pause.

"When will you be back?"

"By Monday evening, I hope."

"Okay, Remus. I'll still be here when you get back." She flashed him a smile that made his heart beat faster. He leaned over and kissed her gently. Lily at first look surprised but then gave another smile and pulled him in for another kiss; a deeper, more passionate one. Lily pulled back and then she frowned.

"Is there something wrong, Lily?" He asked, concerned.

"Oh, it's just that, well" Lily trailed off.

"Lily?"

"It's just that I think I'm falling in love with you." Remus was dumbstruck and stared at Lily with his mouth gaping. She looked nervous and quickly said, "Oh forget it, never mind, just forget I said anything" Remus silenced her with another gentle kiss and then another kiss on her forehead.

"I fell for you a long time ago, Lily."

It was well past midnight and well after curfew by the time they went back to the Gryffindor Tower. The Common Room was almost deserted save a few students with their heads on their desk, fast asleep.

"I had a good time tonight, Remus."

"I did too, Lily. Things are always better with you around, even if I'm slaving over your homework." She punched him gently in the arm.

"You volunteered," she countered jokingly.

"I know." They were quiet; they knew they should go to sleep, but neither one of them felt like going.

"Okay, you should go get some sleep. You look exhausted and what good is all that homework I did for you if you can't be awake in class to hand it in?" Lily chuckled.

"I'll go then; I can tell when I'm not wanted." She stuck her tongue out at him and began to climb the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

"That's really mature," Remus said. But Lily kept walking. "Hey wait." Remus caught her by the arm and gave her a kiss. "Goodnight, Lily." She smiled.

"Goodnight, Remus."

A/N: Sorry this one took a little longer to post and I know it's not even my best. Sorry about that, I'll make sure the next chapter is better. Again thanks to all that reviewed. :) -Jezy.


	5. Full Moon

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. This applies to all the chapters, so if I forget to write this, know I don't own Harry Potter it belongs to J.K Rowling, as I'm sure you all know.

Full Moon

"I wish Professor McGonagall would be more kind about giving homework on the night of the full moon. I'm not going to be able to finish this stuff, you know how I get after," Remus complained.

"Well it's about Animagi, come on Remus, you were the one that got all the information for us. You should know all about it," Sirius said not looking up from his own essay. Remus chuckled as he looked over at his friend.

"Gee, Sirius, since when are you such a hard worker?"

"Shut up, Moony."

"This doesn't have anything to do with that Ravenclaw, does it?"

"So what if it does?"

"Nothing, it's just funny, that's all."

"Hey guys," Peter came and sat down in his usual seat and observed Sirius. "It's that Ravenclaw, isn't it?"

"That's what I said."

"Yes! Now will you two leave me alone?" Remus and Peter smiled and looked at each other.

"No," they both answered at the same time.

"What's her name again?"

"Samantha isn't it?"

"No, I think its Kate."

"It can't be Kate. That was the name of that sixth year Hufflepuff."

"Oh yeah, whatever happened to her?"

"She caught Sirius going at it with that fifth year Gryffindor," James said, sitting down next to Remus. He looked over at Sirius who was still scribbling away. "Good god! My fellow procrastinator! What are you doing?"

"My essay, you prat. What does it look like I'm doing?" Sirius spat acidly. James just smiled at his angry friend.

"Looks like you're trying to impress the Ravenclaw. I think it's good someone finally turned you down. It shrank your head a bit."

"Come on, Wormtail. Nothing could shrink the head of our Padfoot here."

"Shut up, Remus!" Sirius yelled.

"I still don't know her name. Sirius, help me out," Peter said.

"Her name is Beth Andrews," Sirius growled in barely contained rage.

"I thought that was the name of the fifth year Gryffindor," Remus said.

"No, that's Melanie Barnes."

"Gee, James. You seem to know the names of all these girls too. I wonder why that is..." Remus asked sarcastically.

"What can I say? I'm irresistible they all keep telling me to owl them with love letters."

"Right, Prongs. You wish."

"So then, wait, if Melanie is the fifth year, who was the one Sirius was going with before the Hufflepuff?"

"That was..."

"Will you guys please stop talking about my private life? I'm trying to do my essay!"

"It was Jane, wasn't it?"

"No, it was some other Ravenclaw. Anna something or other."

"SHUT IT, OR I'LL HEX ALL OF YOU!"

"I'd like to see you try, Padfoot." James yawned and continued. "Anna James, isn't it? I remember because she has the same last name as my first name."

"Keen observation there, Prongs. I'm surprised you noticed."

"So what if I'm a little slow on the uptake?"

"It can't be Anna James, she was the one Sirius went out with in fifth year."

"Oh yeah..." James and Remus said in unison.

"So that means it was the other Anna."

"What other Anna?"

"I don't know, but it's another Anna."

"Oh wait, its not Anna, its Angela isn't it? Angela..."

"_Silencio!_" Sirius pointed his wand at James and then Peter and then Remus. There was silence. Sirius smiled happily and returned to his work. His friends muttered the counter curse and then proceeded to give Sirius dirty looks, but Sirius was far too happy to notice.

Remus glanced outside the window and saw the sinking sun; it was almost time for him to go.

"I better go and pack, you guys," Remus said loudly. He got up and went up to the boys dormitories. Remus stuffed a handful of robes into a worn knapsack. "Better look the part," he mumbled to himself. Full moons were always an adventure for Remus, but for some reason tonight was different. His thoughts turned to Lily and pictured her repulsed face when she saw who he really was.

"No, I'm not going to think about that," Remus said aloud to himself, but still the thought lingered.

"Oy, Moony. You better go. Madam Pomfrey will have your hide if you don't get down there soon." James walked into the room and sat down on his bed.

"Oh, thanks Prongs."

"No problem." There was a pause. "Is there anything wrong, Remus? You look kind of distant."

"No, I'm fine." Remus sighed and got up from his four poster bed and began to head for the door.

"I'm here if you want to talk, Moony." The knot of guilt that had been buried by the thoughts of Lily had resurfaced.

"I know, James. I'll see you in a while."

Remus managed to make it down to the entrance before the sun had set. He was greeted by a rather ruffled looking Madam Pomfrey. She looked at the sun and clucked disapprovingly. "Mr. Lupin, you're late."

"Sorry, I got caught up saying my goodbyes," Remus joked but caught a glance at Lily eating in the Great Hall and became sullen.

"I was afraid you were going to transform in your dormitory," Madam Pomfrey said as seriously as possible, but she smiled anyway and tried to keep the atmosphere as cheery as possible. She eyed the gloomy look on Remus' face. "Don't worry," she said soothingly. "It'll be morning before you know it."

They walked down to the Whomping Willow and Madam Pomfrey poked the knot at the base of the tree with a stick. The tree stood still; not a leaf twitched.

"This is where I leave you, Mr. Lupin. Have a good night." She gave him a smile of pity and compassion.

"Goodnight Madam Pomfrey." Remus turned and headed down the steep narrow passage. Remus began to hum softly to himself in hopes of chasing away the deafening silence. He followed the tunnel to its destination, a small circle of light at the end of the tunnel, the Shrieking Shack. He crawled through the hole and looked around the room. All the furniture was smashed to bits and stains of blood covered the floor and walls. Remus shuddered at the thought that it was all caused by him.

Remus sat down in his usual corner and waited for his friends to show up. The windows had all been boarded up, but Remus could see through a small crack that the sun had already set and the moon would begin to rise shortly.

"Moony, my dear friend, are you ready for an evening of mischief?" Remus turned to see three pairs of feet.

"Aren't I always?" Remus chuckled flashing them a very wolf-like smile as James pulled off the Invisibility Cloak that covered the three of them.

"So what's the plan for tonight, Sirius?" Peter asked, eager with anticipation. On the full moon, Peter seemed to shed his nervousness, sometimes, Remus thought that Peter underwent a bigger transformation than he himself.

"Well, I guess we'll just see where we end up." Sirius winked and suddenly without warning, Remus froze. His eyes widened with pain and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

"We're right here with you, Remus. We always will be, we promise," James whispered softly to his friend and both Sirius and Peter nodded. They looked at each other, and transformed into their Animagi forms. James became a stag, Sirius became a great black dog and Peter became a rat. They all stared at their friend in silence as Remus began to scream in pain. It was taking over. His eyes, no longer hazel but yellow shined with tears and with the blink of an eye, the tears and Remus Lupin had vanished; in his place was a terrifying werewolf thirsty for blood.

The wolf began to bite itself and then realized that it was in the presence of three other creatures. The wolf lunged at the stag but the dog held him back and put a paw on the wolf's shoulder as though to comfort him. The werewolf growled menacingly under the touch of the dog and lunged at the dog. The stag came and stood in front of the dog, protecting it. The wolf howled and the stag looked into its big yellow eyes. Finally, the wolf understood and disappeared and Remus Lupin came back.

The three bigger animals wrestled with the small rat circling the fight, squealing with delight. Then the four friends left the Shrieking Shack and ran about the Hogwarts grounds. They were the Marauders; an unstoppable group of friends and together the stag, the dog, the rat and the wolf ran together underneath the light of the full moon.

* * *

"You okay?" James asked worriedly. 

"I don't know which part of me hurts more."

"Ah, don't worry about it, you'll be back to normal in a couple of days."

"Easy for you to say, Padfoot. You aren't stuck in this bed."

"Well you always do fine, Moony. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks Peter." Sirius yawned loudly.

"Okay, I'm going to bed. Full moons get more and more tiring each time."

"Yeah I'll go with you."

"Me too!" Peter squeaked.

"See you, Remus. Get some sleep."

"Thanks guys, see you later." Remus laid his head back in the hospital bed, his eyes had just closed when Madam Pomfrey bustled in. She took his temperature and pulse before setting some potion on the night stand.

"It's for those awful looking cuts," she explained. She dipped her wand into the purple solution and prodded one of the scrapes Remus had received from the night before.

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," Remus said as gratefully as he could muster. She looked at him with compassion.

"You're welcome, Mr. Lupin," she said, smiling and then finished up healing his cuts. "There you are, Mr. Lupin. Good as new. You get some sleep now." She drew the curtains around his bed and Remus quickly fell asleep.

"Hi Madam Pomfrey!"

"Oh, hello Lily. Come to help out again?"

"Yep, is there anyone that needs something?" Lily asked.

"How about Mr. Lupin over there the last bed, I'm sure he could use some company. He's had a rough night."

"Remus Lupin?"

"Yes, dear, don't you know him? He's in your year and he's a Gryffindor."

"Oh I know him, it's just I thought he was visiting his mother." Madam Pomfrey suddenly realized that she had spoken too much. Of course the poor boy wouldn't have told his friends that he was a werewolf.

"Really? Well, you'll have to ask him what happened, dear." Madam Pomfrey bustled away to help a second year with awful boils on his face, while Lily walked over to the last bed, not quite sure what to expect.

At the sound of her footsteps, Remus stirred from his sleep. He stretched out his sore muscles and then when the curtains were drawn, he saw her emerald eyes and auburn hair. His stomach contracted. He winced when he saw the expression of anger on her face.

"So, you've gone to visit your mother, have you?" She asked in a deadly voice.

A/N: Okay, if any of my readers are still out there, I'm sorry I haven't updated in a really long time. I promise to finish this story no matter what. I hate those people that quit inbetween. So yes, here's chapter 5, and again I'm so sorry that I didn't update for nearly three weeks. I'm going to try to get another chapter up in the next few days to make up for that. Thanks to all who reviewed. -Jezy.


	6. Forever

Disclaimer: Ha, I remembered for this chapter. Anyway, I do not own Harry Potter or any of these characters.

Forever

"Oh, hi Lily," Remus squeaked nervously and then he cleared his throat, praying that it was a dream. "How are you?" he asked in the same squeaky voice.

"Who do you think you are?" She shrieked. Remus winced and then cowered as she continued. "Do you think you can just lie to me? Deceive me? I'm not some girl you can just use, Remus Lupin!" Madam Pomfrey walked in and wrinkled her nose in disapproval. She gave Remus one of her looks of pity, then closed the curtains and cast an Inperturbable Charm on the thin barrier inclosing the space in which Lily ranted.

"I didn't lie to you Lily," Remus mumbled refusing to meet her smoldering eyes.

"Then what happened?"

"I..." Remus struggled to think of what to say. 'Should I tell her?' he wondered. "I was attacked." Lily didn't say anything, so Remus felt he should continue. "By a big..." He fell deeper into the pit he had dug for himself. "Dog," he said lamely, desperately trying to incorporate some truth into his wild tale. "Yeah, that's right. A big black dog with yellow eyes came out and attacked me."

"A dog?" Lily asked incredulously. "You expect me to believe a dog came out to attack you?"

"Uh..."

"Well?"

"Lily, look, I can't tell you why I lied."

"So you admit it then? You lied." It wasn't a question.

"Yes," Remus admitted still refusing to meet her gaze. He heard her sigh and then there was a long pause.

"Why?" She asked reluctantly.

"You wouldn't understand, Lily." Remus looked up at her sadly.

"Try me." She pursed her lips and stared him down.

"It's complicated."

"Just tell me why, Remus."

"I just want to protect you, Lily."

"Protect me?" Lily chuckled. "From what, Remus? Vampires? Demons? Werewolves?" Remus bit his lip. Werewolves. That's exactly what. He looked back down. She sighed again and then surprisingly, took his hands in hers. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's right, nothing's wrong, I just don't know," Remus muttered to himself then more loudly said, "Like I said, it's complicated."

"I'm not leaving until you tell me." She paused and then added, "I want the truth too."

"A little stubborn are we?" Remus chucked to himself.

"I'm trying to be serious here, Remus." She suppressed a smile.

"Okay fine, the truth is I can't tell you the truth."

"So we're back to square one then."

"I guess so." There was a long silence between them before Remus spoke again. "So then, not to rush you or anything, but can you just break up with me now? I don't think I can survive the torture much longer." Lily stared hard at him, looking slightly puzzled.

"Do you want to break up or something?"

"Of course not."

"Then shut up, Remus." They both grinned at each other.

"Okay, Lily."

"That's better." They were both silent for a while.

"Hey Lily?"

"I thought I told you to shut up!" Lily exclaimed.

"I just want to tell you one thing."

"Okay, just one thing. And then you have to shut up."

"Love you," Remus whispered.

"You're going to have to tell me this big secret sooner or later you know."

"I know."

"You don't really get how much this hurts me, that you can't trust me."

"I'm sorry, I don't know what to say."

"Does it have anything to do with, well you know, other girls?" A tinge of pink appeared on Lily's cheeks.

"No," Remus said, looking her straight in the eye.

"It's not life threatening or anything right?"

"No, not exactly."

"Fine."

"Fine what?"

"Fine, I'll stop bother you about it."

"Thanks Lils, I appreciate it."

"Lils?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Lils."

"Okay then... then I'll call you Remy." Remus made a face.

"Remy? That's a little like a girls name wouldn't you say?"

"Okay, fine. You'll be Remus then."

"Okay. "  
Lily took a quick glance at the clock that hung on the wall. "I'm going to go eat some lunch. Leigh and Trace will start to wonder where I am."

"Yeah, you should go," Remus said reluctantly.

"You promise you're going to tell me right?"

"I thought you said you weren't going to bother me about it," Remus laughed.

"Just this last time."

"I promise I'll tell you." Then he added with an afterthought, "When the time is right, I guess."

"As long as that time is soon. I can't wait forever, Remus."

"I know, Lils."

"Good." She bent down and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Bye Remus."

"Yeah, bye Lils."

* * *

Weeks passed by without incident and before the Hogwarts students noticed, Halloween was upon them. The Great Hall was decorated with live bats and floating jack-o-lanterns and all the day long, the smell of pumpkin pie wafted through the castle. The four Marauders were making their way down the stairs to breakfast when Snape appeared and blocked their path. Peter's eyes widened in fear. 

"Potter," he sneered.

"Sod off, Snivellus," Sirius snarled.

"Give me a reason to, Black."

"Don't tempt me Snivellus," Sirius warned, pulling out his wand.

"Oh, Black, I'm disappointed in you."

"You greasy slimeball," James hissed.

"No need for name calling, I just wanted to speak with your darling friend over there." He pointed at Remus.

"Me?" Remus asked coolly.

"Yes."

"What do you want, Snivellus?" Sirius growled angrily.

"I just was curious, where do you go every few weeks? Because I know it isn't your mother's."

"Wouldn't you like to know, you greaseball?" Remus replied mildly. Snape's face clouded with anger, he raised his wand.

"_Petrificus Totalus_," James muttered. Snape's arms and legs snapped together and he fell to the ground with a dull thud.

"Mr. Potter!" The four Marauders whirled around and saw Professor McGonagall shaking her finger in anger. "Potter! I have never met anyone so deliberately disobedient in my entire life. Fifty points from Gryffindor! And you are forbidden to go to Hogsmeade today, instead you will serve detention with me. Be at my office by nine o' clock, or you'll be very sorry indeed. Do I make myself clear?" James merely nodded in response. She took out her wand and muttered the counter spell and immediately Snape's arms and legs sprang open again. Professor McGonagall took one last look at James and then stormed off. Snape smirked and went off to breakfast.

"No Hogsmeade again," James moaned as soon as the Professor was out of earshot.

"Bad luck, Prongs," Sirius commiserated.

"Sorry, James. It was my fault," Remus murmured.

"No it's okay. Snivelly deserved it," said James.

"I'm still sorry, that's the second Hogsmeade in a row."

"Don't worry about it Moony. I didn't even ask Lily to Hogsmeade this time." James gave Remus a smile, and he meekly returned it.

After James had gone off for his detention, Remus went off in search of Lily and found her in the Library.

"Hey Lils." Lily turned around and saw Remus. She broke into a smile.

"Hi Remus! I just needed to finish some Defence homework," she said loudly, and then in undertone, she added, "Meet me at the clearing, 'kay?" Remus nodded and left. He made his way to the front entrance to get onto one of the carriages when he ran into Sirius.

"Hey, Moony, where d'ja run of to?" He asked.

"Uh, I needed to find someone," Remus answered rather awkwardly.

"Oh?" Sirius asked and then nodded in comprehension.

"You were always the slow one," Remus chuckled.

"I resent that comment, Moony," Sirius retorted as seriously as was serious with Sirius.

"Yeah, I thought you might."

"So, you going to Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go then."

"What about Peter?" Remus asked concerned.

"Oh, he's off snogging that third year, don't worry about him." Both Remus and Sirius made a face. The very thought of Peter... "Yeah, don't try to think about it." Sirius said, noting the expression of Remus' face.

"Good idea, let's go." They walked in silence to the gates of Hogwarts to board one of the horseless carriages. After a view minutes, Sirius looked at Remus.

"Oy, Moony, he's going to find out sooner or later."

"I know."

"I think you should tell him." Remus looked at Sirius wondering whether he had finally lost it.

"You've gone mad, haven't you?"

"I think he'll appreciate it more if you tell him rather than him finding out from someone else."

"You have gone mad."

"I haven't, I'm not joking."

"We're talking about the James Potter, you realize."

"I know."

"Padfoot, you know him better than the rest of us. You know how he'll get. He'll rip me to shreds and..."

"Or he'll be really grateful that it's you and not some Slytherin," Sirius interrupted.

"No, he'll be even worse if he finds out it's me."

"No," Sirius said thoughtfully. "I don't think he will."

"Arg, I'm not listening Padfoot."

"Fine, don't, but remember, I'm looking out for the both of you."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

"Is Lily worth your friend—"

"—ship with James," Remus finished. "How many times do I have to tell you I don't know?"

"As many times as it takes to get a different answer than 'I don't know.'," Sirius told him.

"I love her," Remus stated simply. Sirius stared at him intently.

"As many times as it takes."

"It may take forever," Remus sighed.

"Don't worry, we'll be around for that long," Sirius joked. Remus smiled slightly.

"That's right. As long as you can wait that long, Padfoot."

"Of course I can, Moony. I've gone longer without food! Speaking of which..." Sirius' stomach growled. "You want to go to The Three Broomsticks for some food?"

"Can't. Um, prior engagement." Sirius smiled.

"Moony, old boy, I do believe you're all grown up."

"Thanks, Padfoot."

More silence passed between the two friends. It wasn't an awkward silence, but just a silence in which both were appreciating the company without having to speak. They rode the rest of the way in silence, and when the carriage finally slowed to a stop, they nodded and parted ways.

A/N: Okay, so yeah, not so good at this keeping promises about updating. I need to work on it, I know. The past view chapters haven't exactly been up to scratch or anything, this is solely because my free time is limited, not that I'm a bad writer or anything.. I hope. Anyway...This story has turned out to be pretty fluffy, not really my intent, but I guess I'll just keep it that way, unless anyone has any objections. Thanks to all who reviewed. -Jezy.


	7. A Little Bit of Rain

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of these characters.

A Little Bit of Rain

Remus walked absentmindedly through the streets of Hogsmeade. Every so often he would bump into a second year or an old witch was levitating her groceries home, but one could hardly blame him. Remus Lupin's mind was anywhere but the busy road in Hogsmeade. Clumsily, he made his way, following the cobblestone road out of the village.

"What am I doing with Lily Evans?" Remus muttered to himself as he paced back and forth on the side of the cobblestone road. "Am I one of those sick blokes that does this sort of thing for the thrill?" He hit himself on the head and his thoughts drifted over the thought of James. Remus imagined James sitting in McGonagall's office doing lines and dreaming of Lily at the same time. Perhaps he would write Lily Evans one thousand times instead of _I vow never to disobey the rules of this prestigious school I am attending_, or maybe _I'm writing these lines as punishment for breaking the rules of Hogwars School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_. Or whatever ridiculously long sentence McGonagall could come up with. Remus could see McGonagall's face tighten with anger when she saw that James' lines were nothing more than the name of her pupil. Remus almost laughed but instead sighed and kicked at a dandelion in front of him, causing the fragile structure to break apart. With a heavy heart, Remus watched as the tiny wisps of white caught the wind and flew away. The sky was overcast and Remus noticed storm clouds were racing overhead. Perhaps they would get a little rain later.

"Is she worth it?" Remus asked himself and for once he actually attempted to answer the question. "Ye-no. No… wait, yes. No. No. Yes. Maybe." He shook his head in frustration. It was no use, the question was simply impossible. He looked down the road for a sign of Lily's auburn hair and just saw a couple of children racing each other on toy brooms. He took out his wand and twirled it in between his fingers causing gold sparks to shoot out of the end.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_!" he whispered, pointing his wand over at another dandelion that was still yellow and made it zoom around the field. He glanced at the forest and saw that the bright colors of the leaves had dulled with the coming of winter. The absence of the color however, did not take away any of the beauty the forest had. 'It must be enchanted,' Remus thought to himself. 'Things cannot possibly be so beautiful without an enchantment.'

"Hey Remus!" He turned and saw Lily and her bouncing auburn hair appear round the bend. His stomach contracted with nervousness and he thought to himself, 'Or maybe they can…'

"Hey Lily!" he called and his voice cracked. He blushed embarrassedly, but Lily didn't seem to notice as she came bounding up to him.

"I've missed you," she said giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Why? I just saw you twenty minutes ago."

"So?"

"So, you didn't miss me, you were just thinking about me."

"There's no poetry in that." Remus made a face.

"I don't like poetry." Lily made an expression of mock hurt.

"But poetry is wonderful! You horrible person!" She turned and buried her face in her hands and pretended to sob.

"I'm leaving you now!" Remus called over his shoulder as he began to walk away, refusing to look back. He kept walking but soon realized that Lily wasn't running after him. He turned around and saw that Lily was walking back towards Hogsmeade. Remus sprinted after her and tackled her to the ground.

"That wasn't very nice, Mr. Lupin," she said, annoyed. She tried to get up but Remus pulled her back down. "But it's nice to know that I have complete control over you." She smiled at him and he melted on the spot.

"Now that, Miss Evans isn't very nice," Remus replied regaining his composure. He didn't want Lily to know that she really did have complete control over him. He got up and brushed off his robes and offered Lily a hand. But she had already gotten up.

"I don't need your chivalry, thank you very much," she told him as she continued walking towards Hogsmeade leaving Remus to wonder whether or not she was serious.

"Oy, Lily. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be a prat." She kept walking on and Remus really began to worry. He jogged to catch up to her and then she stopped, turned around and began laughing at Remus and he just stood confused and waited patiently for Lily to stop.

"I'm sorry, Remus. It's just that, you should know by now that I would never leave you." Remus continued to look confused until Lily wrapped her arms around him. "Is it okay if I told you that I'm not falling anymore? Would it be okay if I told you that I'm already there. I'm already in love with you."

Remus opened his mouth to speak, he wanted to tell her how much she meant to him. He wanted to tell her how he would do anything for her. But somehow the only thing he managed to say was:

"I love you too, Lily."

* * *

Remus skipped into the boys' dormitory to get ready for dinner. He had spent the entire afternoon with Lily and he felt as though he were on top of the world. He kept picturing her smile and every time he thought of her, his heart would race and he too would smile. He pulled open his trunk and then noticed James lying on his almost-too-small bed. 

"James are you alright?" Remus cautiously approached his friend who was just lying on his bed staring straight up at the ceiling. Remus was worried, normally it was impossible to keep James still for more than three seconds. "James?"

"Bugger off, Moony," James replied harshly. "I don't want to talk tonight. So you'll have to excuse me."

"Would you just tell me what's going on?"

"No."

"What's going on here?" Sirius just entered the dormitory.

"James is being an ass," Remus told him.

"I am not," came the reply from the bed.

"Prongs, what do you think you're doing?" Sirius asked.

"Well I was just trying to get some sleep."

"What happened, mate?" Sirius questioned, simply concerned for his friend.

"Lily," was the reply. There was a moments silence during which Sirius snuck a glance at Remus.

"What happened, James?" Remus asked carefully.

"She's in love, that's what happened. She's in love," James' voice was dead and hollow sounding.

"Says who?" Sirius asked trying hard not to look at Remus who was fidgeting uncomfortably.

"Says her. I tried talking to her and she told me that my attempts to get her to like me were useless. That she was love with someone else. I hope whoever it is deserves her. I hope its someone that'll treat her right."

"Come on, lets go down stairs for some supper," Sirius said as he dragged James out of his four poster bed. "Come on, Moony."

They made their way downstairs and sat down in their usually seats. James was still looking depressed and Sirius was desperately trying to cheer up his best friend. Remus didn't trust himself to speak and let Sirius do all the talking.

"I know just what will cheer you up, Prongs. Let's just wait for Peter…" He turned around and saw Peter Pettigrew make his way over to the table.

"Wormtail, you've actually arrived just in time. I've thought of the perfect plan," Sirius announced. He gave a mischievous wink and looked up at the ceiling. "It's bewitched to look like the sky, you know." The four Marauders looked up at the ceiling to see dark swirls of clouds.

"Wow, Padfoot. Since when have you read _Hogwarts: a History_?" Remus laughed.

"It's common knowledge, Remus," Sirius replied. "You wouldn't happen to know how to, erm, make the thing on the ceiling real?

"What do you mean, Sirius?"

"Oh, you know, I was thinking that the Slytherins are all slime balls that need a good wash. Don't you agree?" He gave a sly grin. Remus thought about it for a second and then whipped out his wand. He muttered an incantation under his breath and pointed his wand up at the ceiling and without warning, the thunderstorm outside was suddenly upon the Slytherin table.

"Well, I think that was a success," Sirius said happily as he watched the Slytherins yelp in surprise and they scrambled for the other dry house tables.

"Look at Snivellus!" James broke into a smile which turned into laughter as he pointed over at a particularly greasy dark haired boy who had at that moment just slipped on the wet ground and fell. The Marauders doubled up in laughter.

"Potter! Black!" Their laughter instantly stopped to see Professor McGonagall and Professor Blanch the Potions Master appear at their sides.

"You two will come with us," Professor Blanch said in a deadly voice.

"It wasn't them!" Remus said more bravely than he felt. "I did it." The two professors exchanged glances.

"Very well, Mr. Lupin," Professor McGonagall said reluctantly. "Come with us." Remus got up and followed the two professors. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see both looks of guilt and gratefulness on their faces. But soon they were out of sight, as the two professors marched him to Professor Blanch's office and closed the door.

"Mr. Lupin, I hope you realize the serious nature of your actions," Professor McGonagall said in her most severe voice. "I am taking away one hundred points from Gryffindor. Remus gave her a pained look. "Well, it serves you right Mr. Lupin. I don't know what on earth you were thinking."

"You will also serve detention with me, every Thursday evening you will meet me in my office. Every Thursday until the Christmas holidays. Is that clear?" Professor Blanch's eyes glittered with malice.

"In addition to that," Professor McGonagall added with a sideways glance at Professor Blanch, "you will clean up the mess you have made in the Great Hall without magic. You may go, and report to Professor Dumbledore and apologize. I will meet you in the Great Hall shortly, I must first speak with Professor Blanch."

Remus breathed. He headed out the door. It wouldn't be so bad…

"Oh, and Mr. Lupin? No more Hogsmeade either. That will be all." Professor McGonagall turned away and Remus began walking back to the Great Hall.

What had he gotten himself into?

A/N: No excuse. Absolutely none. I know I promised to update about three months ago, probably more, and I'm so sorry. I just haven't been inspired to write. But now, I'm going to try to finish this story up and hopefully it will all turn out okay. I hope this chapter is okay, let me know if there are any errors. Constructive criticism is welcome. Thanks to all who reviewed and to readers still out there, thanks for being patient with me. -Jezy.


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